Tag: Sandro Platzgummer

Ex-Giant Sandro Platzgummer signs with Raiders Tirol of EFL

Former New York Giants running back Sandro Platzgummer has signed with the Raiders Tirol of the European Football League.

Former New York Giants running back Sandro Platzgummer, who announced he wouldn’t be back with the team in February, will not be playing in the NFL this year. Instead, he’ll be playing in the European Football League.

Raiders Tirol head coach Kevin Herron announced the signing of Platzgummer earlier this week.

“I am super excited for this new challenge. It is a league that is new for me but there are a lot of old teammates and coaches I would love to work with,” Platzgummer said in a statement released by the team.

“I am very happy to be back with the Raiders Tirol and can continue my career where it started. There was never any other option for me in Europe.”

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The 26-year-old Platzgummer joined the Giants in 2020 via the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program. He spent three seasons on the team’s practice squad and although he never appeared in a regular season game, the Austrian became a favorite among his teammates.

In a 2021 preseason game against the New York Jets, Platzgummer realized his professional dream by ripping off an impressive 48-yard run.

With three years of NFL experience under his belt, Platzgummer is likely to dominate the EFL. Early expectations are that he’ll win the Offensive Player of the Year Award.

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Sandro Platzgummer says his time with the Giants is over

Sandro Platzgummer says his chapter with the New York Giants has come to a close and shared his goodbyes on Instagram.

Sandro Platzgummer joined the New York Giants in 2020 as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program. He’s spent each of the past three seasons on their practice squad but his time in East Rutherford appears to be over.

This past Monday, practice squad contracts for teams who lost in the divisional round of the playoffs officially expired. Platzgummer was among those players and he took to Instagram to say his goodbyes.

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“This is me signing off from NY after 3 seasons,” Platzgummer wrote. “I guess I’m now officially done with this chapter. While I’m thankful for all the good things that happened here, I feel confident that I had earned a real chance to write more about this one.

“But I can’t change the things that are out of my control and therefore, with what I was given, I’m really proud of how much I was able to put on paper. And after all I’m not ready to close the book just yet, because I know there is still too much ink left for at least one more chapter!”

Although Platzgummer never saw any regular season action during his time with the Giants, he did have some stellar preseason moments, including a 48-yard run against the New York Jets in 2021.

Once a Giant, always a Giant.

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Giants sign DB Fabian Moreau to practice squad, release two

The New York Giants have signed DB Fabian Moreau to their practice squad and released two, including RB Sandro Platzgummer.

The New York Giants continued their roster tinkering as Week 1 of the 2022 regular season opened on Monday.

The team announced that defensive back Fabian Moreau had been signed to the practice squad as part of a series of moves. In order to clear room for Moreau, defensive back Harrison Hand was released from the reserve unit.

The 28-year-old Moreau was a third-round pick of the Washington Commanders in the 2017 NFL draft. He spent four seasons with the team before joining the Atlanta Falcons last season. He also spent a portion of this summer with the Houston Texans but was released as a part of final cuts.

In 76 career games (34 starts), Moreau has recorded 186 tackles (4 for a loss), one QB hit, three forced fumbles, 25 passes defensed and six interceptions. He earned a 57.7 Pro Football Focus grade in 2021.

Also waived was running back Sandro Platzgummer, who had spent the past two-plus years with New York as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program.

Platzgummer is likely to return to the Giants’ practice squad given his available roster exemption. He would not count toward the 16-player limit.

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Giants open preseason with 23-21 victory over Patriots

The New York Giants opened the preseason with a 23-21 victory over Bill Belichick, Joe Judge and the New England Patriots.

The New York Giants opened their preseason slate against the New England Patriots on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Starters played just two series before giving way to the second-team, who stayed in the game through halftime. At that point, the third-team and deep reserves came in to attempt to cement a role for themselves.

There were the typical ups and downs from a first preseason game on both sides but ultimately, the did enough to secure the win.

2022 Giants training camp preview: Running backs

The New York Giants will be led by Saquon Barkley in 2022, but what does the team have as far as running back depth behind him?

The New York Giants were once a team that prided itself on running the football at will. Those days are long gone, as is the notion of running the football as a the primary source of offense.

Last season, the Giants were 23rd in rushing with a 99.3 yards per game average. Much of this had to do with lack of opportunity more than anything else. The Giants, who finished 4-13, were usually behind on the scoreboard and were playing catch-up.

This year, with a new head coach in Brian Daboll and a new offensive coordinator (Mike Kafka), the Giants don’t figure to be run-first offense based on their histories.

It’s not certain how the unit will be filled out or deployed this year. There is also a new running backs coach in DeAndre Smith, who is making the leap to the NFL after two decades in the college ranks.

Here is a quick rundown of the running back unit heading into camp.

Sandro Platzgummer among Giants returning punts in OTAs

The New York Giants will be looking for a new punt returner in 2022 and RB Sandro Platzgummer has apparently thrown his name into the hat.

Among the many decisions facing the New York Giants this offseason is who will replace Jabrill Peppers as the primary punt returner.

Peppers, of course, left the Giants via free agency and went on to sign with the New England Patriots. And although Big Blue did bring back wide receiver C.J. Board, there will be a competition for the starting job this summer.

Auditions kicked off on Monday as the Giants opened organized team activities, and there was more than a handful of players stepping up to challenge. However, there was a very interesting name among them.

In addition to Darius Slayton, Adoree’ Jackson, Darnay Holmes and a slew of rookies was international running back Sandro Platzgummer.

The Giants had numerous players fielding punts on Monday, including rookie wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson. Other punt returners included Darius Slayton, Sandro Platzgummer, Adoree’ Jackson, Darnay Holmes, Jashaun Corbin, Austin Proehl and Richie James.

Platzgummer has spent the past several seasons on the Giants’ practice squad by way of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program. He remains on an international exemption, but that will expire on the day the Giants trim their roster to 53 men.

A path to the roster is obviously more difficult for Platzgummer this year, so he and the Giants have hedged their bets by finding other area for him to contribute. And while it’s unlikely he outright wins the punt return job, the added versatility is always a good thing to have.

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Giants’ given temporary international roster exemption for Sandro Platzgummer

The New York Giants have been granted a temporary international roster exemption for RB Sandro Platzgummer.

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After several seasons on their practice squad, the New York Giants re-signed running back Sandro Platzgummer in late March.

Platzgummer, an Austrian prospect who originally joined the Giants by way of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program, had been on a roster exemption. And while said exemption will expire in 2022, it will be permitted over the next several months.

The NFL announced on Monday that exemptions for eight international prospects, including Platzgummer, had been approved. The exemptions will allow the players to participate in all offseason programs, training camp and preseason games without counting against the 90-man roster.

The exemptions will expire on the day of the roster reduction to 53 players.

While Platzgummer has not yet made the final roster, the Austrian medical student did break off a highlight 48-yard rush during the 2021 preseason against the New York Jets, creating excitement from nearly everyone on the sideline, including fellow running back Saquon Barkley.

Although it’s a feather in Platzgummer’s cap to be re-signed, he’ll now have to convince general manager Joe Schoen, head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka that he’s worth keeping around.

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Report: Giants will be without Gary Brightwell in Week 9

The New York Giants will be without running back Gary Brightwell (Reserve/COVID-19) on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders.

The New York Giants will be unable to welcome Saquon Barkley (ankle) back this Sunday after a false-positive for COVID-19 stunted his rehab. They will also be without rookie Gary Brightwell, who won’t come off the reserve list in time for the Week 9 game.

Dan Duggan of The Athletic was the first to report the news.

Like Barkley, it is believed that Brightwell tested false-positive before landing on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. He would be required to test negative consecutively and show no symptoms of the virus before being removed.

The Giants experienced in excess of 20 false-positives this week, forcing them to temporarily halt rapid testing and return to PCR testing. It is believed that an issue with the lab is at fault for the incorrect testing results.

In addition to Brightwell, the Giants will also be without running backs coach Burton Burns. He was a true positive for COVID-19 and has been isolated from the team.

Freddie Kitchens and Jody Wright will coach the running backs in place of Burns.

Due to their depth issues at the position, the Giants are expected to elevate Dexter Williams, who was signed earlier this week, or Sandro Platzgummer from their practice squad.

Currently, Devontae Booker and fullback Eli Penny are the only healthy bodies at the position.

Giants coordinator corner: Kadarius Toney falling behind

The three New York Giants coordinators met with the media on Tuesday and one thing became clear: Kadarius Toney is falling behind.

On a day where the co-owner, John Mara and general manger Dave Gettleman addressed the media, the New York Giants also wheeled out the majority of their coaching staff to answer questions as well.

Their three coordinators were front and center to give their updates on the offense, defense and special teams.

Giants’ Sandro Platzgummer realized his NFL dream with 48-yard run

When Giants RB Sandro Platzgummer was finally given his opportunity on Saturday night, he made the most of it and his teammates went wild.

The crowd erupted and the New York Giants sideline, led by team captain Saquon Barkley, went absolutely wild as Austrian running back Sandro Platzgummer broke outside and scampered for a 48-yard gain on Saturday night.

Platzgummer, who joined the Giants last season as part of the NFL’s International Players Pathway program, nearly had his dreams crushed due to a late-season knee injury. That came on the heels of the cancelation of the preseason due to COVID-19, meaning Platzgummer never had the opportunity to do anything other than practice and rehab.

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But 2021 brought revived hope for the 24-year-old.

Platzgummer returned to the Giants this offseason and not only did the league change its international rules, potentially allowing Austria’s “Rudy” to appear on the active roster this year, but he realized his dream on Saturday night by playing in an actual game.

And by golly, he made the most of it.

“I’ve been here for a year now and I haven’t really gotten a chance to get on the field at all,” he said. “It’s going to be a blast, for sure,” Platzgummer told Newsday last week. “It’s insane thinking that the decision I made 18 years ago to start playing football would eventually take me here so far away from home. It’s incredible. I’m very glad I’m here for a second year now because it’s a new year and new opportunities for me. New challenges. And I’m ready for it.”

Platzgummer finished the game with a team-leading 51 yards on four carries. And that means new dreams, new goals and new heights to reach.

Whatever the future now holds for Platzgummer, no one can ever tell him he couldn’t make it to the NFL or achieve a highlight-reel run. He has, but it feels like that may be just the tip of the iceberg.

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